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The Migdal effect in semiconductors for dark matter with masses below ∼ 100 MeV

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  • Published: 09 January 2023
  • Volume 2023, article number 23, (2023)
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The Migdal effect in semiconductors for dark matter with masses below ∼ 100 MeV
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  • Kim V. Berghaus  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2294-81881,
  • Angelo Esposito2,3,4,
  • Rouven Essig1 &
  • …
  • Mukul Sholapurkar5 

  • 494 Accesses

  • 13 Citations

  • 9 Altmetric

  • 1 Mention

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A preprint version of the article is available at arXiv.

Abstract

Dark matter scattering off a nucleus has a small probability of inducing an observable ionization through the inelastic excitation of an electron, called the Migdal effect. We use an effective field theory to extend the computation of the Migdal effect in semiconductors to regions of small momentum transfer to the nucleus, where the final state of the nucleus is no longer well described by a plane wave. Our analytical result can be fully quantified by the measurable dynamic structure factor of the semiconductor, which accounts for the vibrational degrees of freedom (phonons) in a crystal. We show that, due to the sum rules obeyed by the structure factor, the inclusive Migdal rate and the shape of the electron recoil spectrum is well captured by approximating the nuclei in the crystal as free ions; however, the exclusive differential rate with respect to energy depositions to the crystal depends on the phonon dynamics encoded in the dynamic structure function of the specific material. Our results now allow the Migdal effect in semiconductors to be evaluated even for the lightest dark matter candidates (mχ ≳ 1 MeV) that can kinematically excite electrons.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. C.N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, U.S.A.

    Kim V. Berghaus & Rouven Essig

  2. School of Natural Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study, 1 Einstein Dr, Princeton, NJ, 08540, USA

    Angelo Esposito

  3. Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 2, I-00185, Rome, Italy

    Angelo Esposito

  4. INFN Sezione di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 2, I-00185, Rome, Italy

    Angelo Esposito

  5. Department of Physics, University of California, 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA

    Mukul Sholapurkar

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  1. Kim V. Berghaus
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Correspondence to Kim V. Berghaus.

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Berghaus, K.V., Esposito, A., Essig, R. et al. The Migdal effect in semiconductors for dark matter with masses below ∼ 100 MeV. J. High Energ. Phys. 2023, 23 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP01(2023)023

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  • Received: 27 October 2022

  • Accepted: 13 December 2022

  • Published: 09 January 2023

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP01(2023)023

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Keywords

  • Particle Nature of Dark Matter
  • Models for Dark Matter
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